`python' Alumnus Enjoyed Challenge Of Game-based Book

2 Men To Face Trial In Vehicular Death Case

Saturday, December 13, 1997 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 3A 





`Good inmate' gets break, receives no extra time in drug case &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Already jailed at the State &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Correctional Institution at &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Dallas, Fidel A. Santiago receives concurrent sentence for conviction on
possession of a controlled substance and possession with intent to deliver
charges. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 By BONNIE ADAMS &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Times Leader Staff Writer &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 WILKES-BARRE- A state prison inmate who ate a sandwich containing balloons
filled with cocaine told Judge Patrick J. Toole Jr. on Friday that he had no
intention of later delivering the drugs. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Toole debated on whether to sentence Fidel A. Santiago to additional time
after his current sentence. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "How much time should I give, and should I make it concurrent or should I
make it consecutive?" Toole said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The judge questioned whether Santiago was remorseful. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I do have remorse and I do regret what I did," Santiago said. "I'm sorry
for everything that happened in prison. I'm sorry for everything that happened
to me." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Toole sentenced him to a 21-to-42-month concurrent sentence while he is
already at the State Correctional Institution at Dallas. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "You are a relatively good inmate," Toole said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In October, a Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas jury found Santiago, 37, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 guilty on one count each of possession of a controlled substance and
possession with intent to deliver, both felonies. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A visitor at the state prison gave Santiago a sandwich containing several
balloons filled with cocaine on Nov. 12, 1995, police said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 According to an affidavit of probable cause: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Santiago told a state trooper that he planned to conceal the drugs, then
sell them to an inmate he knew only as "Tony." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 During the visit, Santiago told the trooper that he had gone to the
bathroom earlier in the day, passed a portion of one of the balloons and "felt
he was going to die." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Santiago passed additional balloons that were sent to the State Police
Crime Lab for testing. Tests concluded that the substance was approximately 2
grams of cocaine. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Santiago said Friday that he has since received drug counseling at the
prison. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "They made me realize what I did," he said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Fidel Santiago &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

`good Inmate' Gets Break, Receives No Extra Time In Drug Case 
Already Jailed At The State 
Correctional Institution At 
Dallas, Fidel A. Santiago 
Receives Concurrent Sentence 
For Conviction On Possession 
Of A Controlled Substance And

`good Inmate' Gets Break, Receives No Extra Time In Drug Case Already Jailed At The State Correctional Institution At Dallas, Fidel A. Santiago Receives Concurrent Sentence For Conviction On Possession Of A Controlled Substance And